I've always loved Bonanza and as a compulsive list maker, I've taken it on myself to jot down my favorite episodes of all time. "The Legacy"- when Ben's horse returns alone, covered in blood, the Cartwright boys assume he has been murdered by cattle rustlers and split up to track down the three men they believe to have killed him. "The Ride"-after Adam witnesses his business partner gun down a stage depot man, no one believes him when it turns out the killer was seen in Virginia City shortly thereafter. "The Rescue"-after Ben loses a fistfight, the Cartwright boys worry that Ben is growing old and refuse to allow him to go after cattle rustlers with them. Only to find themselves pinned down and wounded. "No Less A Man"- Virginia City residents lose faith in Sheriff Roy Coffee's ability to protect them as a notorious gang of bank robbers loom closer. "The Quality of Mercy"- Joe accidentally witnesses a friend of his "finish off" his business partner after a silver mine cave in. "The Crucible"- Adam is tortured by a crazed, sadistic miner (Lee Marvin) after he stumbles into his camp. "Vendetta"- Ben is badly wounded during a bank shootout with the Morgan gang. When the gang returns for revenge, the townspeople abandon Ben and Hoss to fight alone. "Desert Justice"-a tour de force by guest star Claude Akins as a Marshal who accuses a Ponderosa ranch hand of murdering his wife. Adam tags along to protect the ranch hand only to become suspicious of both the marshal and the accused. "The Avenger"-one of the best guest starring efforts. By actor Vic Morrow who rides into town as a mysterious stranger on the day Ben and Adam are being hanged for murder. "Day of Reckoning"-an Indian (Ricardo Montalbon) saves Ben's life and takes up the ways of the white man, only to have old hatreds come into his life. "Springtime"-the Cartwright boys, overworked and in a fowl mood accidentally injure an old man, and friend of Ben's. "The Lonely House"- an injured bank robber takes refuge at the home of a lonely widow being visited by Little Joe. there turns out to be more to the robber than meets the eye. "The Gamble"- a crooked sheriff and his deputies frame the visiting Cartwrights for murder and steal their money. It is up to Little Joe to save the day as he manages to escape in the post trial melee. "The First Born"- Little Joe's older (and previous unknown) half brother shows up. "The Quest"- Little Joe wins a contract to deliver timber and sets out to build a flume. "My Brother's Keeper"- Adam accidentally shoots Little Joe while wolf hunting. "The Thunder Man"- a murderous explosives expert stalks women around Virginia City. "The Prime of Life"- Ben stumbles into depression after his drive to win a contract causes the death of an elderly Ponderosa employee. "Ponderosa Matador"-the boys compete for the affection of a Mexican girl. With Hoss and Little Joe trying to top Adam by putting on a bull fight. And those are just a few.
I like the lighthearted ones too - the one where Hoss is convinced he sees leprechauns is one example.
then the A-team arrived to save the day while Pa Ingalls and Reg Barclay reset the timeline with a clockwork technobabblator. Or was it the Enterprise? Trapper John and BJ Hunnicut meeting was good.
Truthfully, I can't recall a single episode of Bonanza that I've watched. Now I know I've watched them, and I can recall bits and pieces, but never the plot or outcomes or none of that. Gunsmoke I remember some of, but nor Bonanza.
I remember watching some of the episodes when I was a little kid, but I can't remember a single thing about any of them and, as an adult, the show holds no interest for me at all.
After the Nick joke...I went and Hulu'ed an ep of "The Big Valley" last night - the pilot ep - and I have to say, it holds up better than I would have thought. the hunch i had was that it would have aged a lot worse than the other big westerns but it really didn't - at least not in that one ep.
That pretty much sums up my opinion. It was a great show and a family TV staple in its day, but I haven't watched 'em much since. I think it ran on Sunday nights, didn't it?
It would have been funny though if instead of Mongo being in Blazing Saddles Dan Blocker reprised his role as Hoss. "Nevermind that shit, here comes Hoss!" "Candygram for Hoss! Candygram for Hoss!" "Hoss only pawn in game of life."
That's right up there with the one where one of them is accused of murder, and they catch the real killer in the end.
Of course Bonanza made a huge mistake having the queen of the Scalosians show up as Adam's love interest for four episodes only to leave with Guy Williams who went on to "Lost in Space". Another favorite. "Invention of a Gunfighter" Little Joe trains a timid friend of his in how to use a gun after the man is humiliated by a gun wielding bully. Only to have his friend quickly turn into a ruthless, trigger happy bounty hunter.
The one where Hop Sing hears one too many ethnic jokes at his expense....and poisons the whole family's food - only to have to repeat the poisoning 1/2 hour later!
I like the one where the cowboy dude with the horse did the thing that pissed off the Cartwrights, and they went after him to set things straight (in only a morally upright way, of course!).
I get the impression that people are claiming that Bonanza was formulamatic. Most long running tv shows are. The key is to find a formula that works well.
